Foul Play
by Rai-Child
Summary: Sometimes, the most dangerous of games is the one that involves other parties... Onesided EnvyEd. Oneshot.


Foul Play

Oneshot

By: Rai-Child

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the characters.

Summary: Sometimes, the most dangerous of games is the one that involves other parties... Onesided EnvyEd. Oneshot.

Author's Note: _Yeah... I've been dead to the world for ages, ne? Thought I'd better get off my butt and upload something... So here you go! X3 It's just a oneshot, but a hell of a lot of work has gone into this... I don't really like it very much, but there you go. 0.o; This is the checked version- I didn't have spellchecker at the time it was written, but it's all been sorted. _

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Every now and then he would fall- his resolve would crumble and he would find himself doing something he shouldn't. He just had to keep telling himself; he was a Sin and nothing more. Not capable of anything other than wrong. The eldest of the Homunculi could tell apart right from wrong, good from evil. Of course he did- he was smarter than what most gave him credit for, and he knew it.

The thing that set him apart from most other would-be geniuses, however, was the fact that he actively chose against moral value, more often than not. Dante would be furious if she knew. Of course she would, but this... This was Envy's secret. Nothing there for his 'mother' to see.

If she were to find him now, her gaze would slide right over him, unknowing, perhaps even looking away in disgust. This... This _game _that Envy was playing was a dangerous one. One that involved getting into things that, as a soulless being, he had no hope of ever understanding. He failed to comprehend most emotion- nothing outside of his namesake or those of his brothers and sisters. It kept him safe. Emotion made you _weak._

Now, huge brown eyes regarded his first victim since this game had begun. If someone had told him he would be straddling _Edward Elric _of all people, he would have killed them on the spot. Still, everything was different now... Everything had been turned on its head somewhere along the line.

He laughed, the eldest Elric's complexion turning even darker, if such a feat were possible. Of course, the boy, (Envy refused to acknowledge him as anything but), had no way of knowing. The girl hadn't even given her name- but had turned up every night for the past month or so just to be with him, most of the time just watching, listening as he spoke of his alchemy. Edward had learnt early to trust no one. No one except Al- and now here he was...

Everything was coming to a head.

He could remember that first day he met his latest interest- she had been perched on the wall, with bubblegum in her mouth, a skirt that was really too short to be decent and caramel-coloured locks bound back with several grips. Envy had thought his latest disguise flawless...

_Everyone likes a slut, right?_

Of course, the plan had worked perfectly. Not that there was much to it- Envy had seen it as a way to get close before striking. All the times the Elric had come so close to death... Envy wanted to be the one to finish it. _Needed _to be there when it was suddenly, horrifically, all over.

But everything had dragged out. The secrets he could draw from young 'Edo', all the information he would most certainly be rewarded for retrieving... And he found himself not _quite _so focussed on the primary goal. All those times he could have just slit the boy's throat, ripped that damned Automail clean off and left him for dead, just a mess of blood and wires... Nothing. He was undeniably disgusted with himself.

Envy had been understandably worried at first, but now it was different. He _had _to keep up this facade, had to keep going back, never saying a word but finally being _close _to someone... Envy had never been touched. Not like this. This was the Sin's sin, this was what he really saw as wrong. The mere fact that he _hadn't_ dug a knife into the midget's chest yet.

The nameless girl, the one who became some sort of alter-ego to Envy for the duration of the short month he had Edward under his spell... _She _laughed at Ed's expression, climbing swiftly off him and heading for the window. The whine of protest the boy blatantly failed to conceal met her ears, but still the latch clicked and the top pane pulled across, more than enough room to slip through.

_Next time... _Envy thought, kissing the tips of the girl's fingers and turning to run. Gold eyes watched her leave, confused, captivated...

_"Where've you been?"_

_"Out. Research, if you will."_

_"Hmmm. I have the latest target..." _Envy knew time was running out- he couldn't afford to waste any dealing with his newfound need. Stupid humans. It was shame they couldn't just all kill themselves; some sort of mass suicide to save the Homunculi all the trouble. Perhaps leave the Elric midget behind, though. He wasn't even close to being finished with the game yet. Not. Even. Close.

_"...Quite a few actually. This is the form you will have to take... These are the various-"_

_"-Mother, I understand." _He had left before Dante could say another word; he knew there would be trouble on his return, but there was nothing to be done about it. He slipped quickly back into his usual, most familiar form the moment he was out of sight, green-black hair falling over his shoulders.

_Just get it over and done with... _All the while, he kept those thoughts in his head. These things were not to be rushed- they took time, preparation. Sure, it had been many weeks since the order had been issued, but now everything was happening so fast... He cursed his own name, Dante's, the entire Elric lineage... _This is the last time. After tonight, no more. I can't go getting myself into something I can't understand..._

...He had been careless.

Not long after, shouts filled the air as the target fell, blood leaking from various wounds to the chest, spilling from his mouth as it hung open in a drowned scream of agony... The young, female soldier who turned to go _was _recognized, _was _caughtwith blood staining her uniform by the one person she never wanted to see her like this...

"You?" Brown eyes flashed violet for a split-second as Envy was lost to the shock, realising too late that his secret and his mission had bled into one another. The image Dante had showed him was one that _didn't exist_- it was perfect. Envy had enlisted under a fake name, got himself right into the thick of it, ready to strike... But back on that low wall, when everything had happened on impulse, the form he chose was one he had little time to _really _think about...

_...Shit._

And he was off, running, thanking some distant god that everyone was still caught in the thick of it- the few that had seen the actual deed were now dead, innards spilt on the cold ground...

Envy didn't shift back into himself, that would defeat the entire purpose of the mission. Instead, he sprinted off into the city, unsure exactly of where to go. The footsteps behind him were too close for comfort- the creak of Automail cutting through the silence like a knife...

_"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" _Edward screamed, skidding to a halt as the girl took a sharp left, clearing the wall that marked the dead-end easily. Over the other side, the now-recognisable Homunculus landed, the transition between forms as smooth as ever. He had to keep moving if he was to lose the brat- a second later a metallic thud told him Ed had also made it over.

Edward never saw Envy himself, as the figure he pursued was lost to the shadows. Still, the eldest Elric managed a half-smile as he recognised that back-alley- there _was _no way out from there. It backed onto one of the taller buildings. The girl had got herself cornered. He breathed a sigh of relief; glad she was obviously something of a stranger to the city compared to him...

Envy had approximately five seconds to make his decision. Whatever happened, he was going to be caught. He would have to fight.

_Dante will be furious... _He couldn't be seen as the Homunculus he was. But which form to take? Something to throw Edward off guard- Envy had no choice but to kill him now. He had seen too much.

_The girl? _That wouldn't save him. He knew it wouldn't. He couldn't think straight, still gasping for breath from the mad dash in a less-able form. The body of the female soldier couldn't take as much as his chosen form could. He winced, fighting the urge to double over, his options still flickering indecisively through his mind... Maybe if he had more time, he would have managed to make a better decision than the one his pressured thoughts finally landed on. Maybe if he had been just a little more observant, he would have seen that he and Edward Elric were not alone in that dark alley...

Violet eyes not unlike his own peered out from the shadows, unnoticed.

Envy drew in a deep breath as Edward came into view, and...

_"What..." _His eyes snapped open in shock, regarding Edward with poorly-hid horror. Out of everyone he could have chosen. Out of all the people out there... He had already lived a double-existence. He loathed being so attached to people and _liking it_ of all things... Now, not only did Ed see right through to what he really was underneath, _who _he really was underneath, but the childish whisper of an all-too-familiar voice rang out to the right...

_"Okaa-san?"_

_...I never asked for any of this._

Envy looked up, teeth gritted. Wrath's face was a picture of juvenile disappointment. Loss. As much as he had hated his creator... Since Sloth went, he had no one left. The younger Homunculus dropped his gaze, shifting a little on the spot.

"It's not really you... Is it?"

_Izumi is dead... Izumi is dead... _Ed shut his mouth with a snap of teeth, offering one last, cold glare before he turned on his heel. _Izumi is dead, Envy, dead! And what are you going to do about it now? _Really, he could have just turned on both of them. Homunculi were the enemy. But, as Envy had found out the hard way, they were also self-destructive to a point. He had brought it all on himself. Now, the cruellest thing to do would be to add insult to injury...

"It's your mess, so you sort it out." He told the Shapeshifter, before he retreated. Envy watched him leave, his expression one of utter disbelief. Next thing he knew, skinny arms had encircled his waist, clinging tightly... Tears. _Tears. _Envy flinched.

"I... I hate you... So much... Y-you came back, Mommy... I..."

_I said no more. Not after tonight. _Wrath's eyes widened once more as there was a flash, the figure in his arms changing. He jerked back as though he had been burnt. He knew it was all too much. The horribly cliched phrase 'too-good-to-be-true' fit perfectly once more. Everything about 'Izumi' had changed, gone from warm and inviting to cold and strangely angular... Dreadlocks replaced by those long, dark tendrils...

"I knew it." Wrath muttered darkly, regarding Envy with that look of loathing. He took a few steps backwards, hesitant. As if he didn't want to let the mirage go... Envy sighed, genuine for once in his lifetime...

"Life isn't fair, kid."

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_First fic in absolutely ages, and my first ever FMA one too. I really need to get back into my writing... X3 Review?_

_Ally_


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